Expedition 42 crew members Barry Wilmore, Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova are two days away from ending their stay aboard the International Space Station. The trio is packing gear and cleaning crew quarters as they prepare to undock in their Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft Wednesday at 6:44 p.m. EDT and land in Kazakhstan at 10:07 p.m.
› Check out the live NASA TV coverage schedule of Expedition 42 undocking activities
Wilmore, the commander of Expedition 42, will handover control of the orbital laboratory Tuesday to NASA astronaut Terry Virts who will command Expedition 43. The Change of Command Ceremony will take place live on NASA TV at 10:25 a.m.
Meanwhile, advanced microgravity science and laboratory maintenance is ongoing aboard the space station. Among the experiments, the crew studied body size and shape in space for suit sizing and looked at airway inflammation in astronauts. Ethernet cables were also installed in the Harmony module that will enable future commercial crew vehicles to communicate with a pair of upcoming International Docking Adapters.
› Read more about the Body Measures experiment
› Read more about the Airway Monitoring study
Safe Travels! Barry Wilmore , come home to Tennessee and visit soon!!!! Thanks NASA for ongoing exploration, dedication and hard work…
Are these studies being used to test the safety of commercial space flight or mainly for the Mars missions?
Thank you!
Human research studies the changes a crew member’s body undergoes while living in space. Observations help scientists and doctors develop countermeasures (exercise, diet, medicine, etc…) to such things as bone and muscle loss so a crew member can be healthy and productive during a space mission whether in a commercial crew vehicle, on the International Space Station or on a mission to Mars. Staying strong and healthy in space also improves a crew member’s adaptation to gravity when landing back on Earth after a long-duration mission in space.
Um Ótimo retorno aos tripulantes da Expedição 42 da ISS á Terra, Astronautas Barry Wilmore, Alexander Samokutyaev e Elena Serova a casa! Sucesso! Abraços.
Looking forward to Expedition 43 and 44 due to the two Astronauts who’ll be working aboard the station for a year, now that is history as well as interesting study into the possibility of Astronauts venturing around the Solar system beyond the Martian world, if ever possible to do so, decades from now.
I have so enjoyed Wilmore’s presence on the ISS, I’m seriously going to miss seeing him regularly. His attitude and his spirit are contagious, and he makes me wish my life could have gone that way, that I could have joined him (and others like him) in the astronaut corp. His approach to the hard work and the camaraderie and the potential danger of spending half a year in low-earth orbit is exemplary. If we all had his geniality, his work ethic, his sense of humor and his determination – oh, what a people we would be. God bless you, Butch, and may you and Alexander and Yelena be safely returned to earth and to your loved ones.
I want to wish the astronauts a safe,interesting mission and thank them and all of Nasa for many discoveries that help mankind. God Speed!
I reminder when it all started and I am still surprised how far we have gone into space
I wish the crew a safe trip home
all that reseach for just mankind .
Love Nasa love Wilmore and Virts. Good job on the space walks last week and safe trip home.
OMG i love the tech that NASA produce and especially what NASA discovers , keep up
Great success!